


Lexie's Stories

by Sigilmancy



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2020-11-08 16:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20838740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sigilmancy/pseuds/Sigilmancy
Summary: Stories about a sea elf bard





	1. Swing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Done for NaNoWriMo 2019

"I thought I was here to train as a bard?" Lexie questioned, staring at the sword in her hand. It felt heavy despite being one of the lighter ones she knew of.

"You are, dear girl. But being a bard is more than just your instrument and your spells. If you need to, it is good to know how to defend yourself. Not just because you might be on your own, but because even if you are with a group you can't rely on them to defend you all the time." The older bard nodded, hefting his own longsword. "In some cases you can even begin to use your bardic powers through a weapon like this, if you get good enough and go down the right path as a bard. But for now, it's for defense of yourself and others and we'll leave it at that."

"Oh..." Lexie looked down at the rapier, having not really thought about it like that before. But she would need to know how to take care of herself in the world, especially if the planned to travel, and what would she do if her spells ran out or she was otherwise unable to cast?

"Indeed. So, let us begin." He grinned wide, the gesture one of happiness rather than malice, a joy in having a new student to teach.

Lexie never expected bard training to be easy, but she didn't expect that it would be this difficult either. After that point her day was divided; bardic lessons in the morning for her instrument, poetry, songwriting and other related fields and then sword lessons in the afternoons. By the time lunch came she was often sore and hoarse, and by dinner she was too exhausted to want anything but sleep. Her shoulders, back and legs ached from swinging the sword so much, and being all sweaty but too tired to do anything about it until the next morning was just really unattractive. But she couldn't deny that the building muscle mass was good, and that each day it hurt a little less until eventually she knew it wouldn't hurt at all. The years of practice with a tutor who was harsh but not out to kill her would do better than being thrown into a world where if she wasn't good enough and couldn't judge what fights to take and which ones to leave it might cost her life or more was also just generally good.

All in all, however, Lexie was doing her best to just push through. She was doing this for a reason, and that kept her focused. The man she loved was waiting, if only she could get the courage to tell him how she felt. Being a bard would give her that, the words to tell him her feelings, the confidence to say them without making a fool of herself, and a skill set that would put her equal to him so that he didn't have to take care of her. If she could just get there, then her life would be everything she ever wanted.


	2. Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For NaNoWriMo 2019

"Lexie Silva, will you marry me?" Mateo asked, kneeling in front of her and offering a ring. Complex and expensive, carved of a piece of aquamarine with intricate, delicate pattern work etched into it.

"Of course I will." Lexie smiled, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him with all the passion she had.

Regardless of the rings both already wore, betrothed to others as they were, they were each planning to leave their significant others for each other. The ring Mateo offered her was the first sign of that, and a sign that they were ready to take the next step.

"Come the morning I'll tell Tori I'm leaving her. You should do the same for Luric." Mateo murmured when Lexie pulled away, prompting her to frown just a little.

"I know I should. But I just....I don't want to hurt him." She looked away, closing her eyes.

"And it is any better to string him along when there is no romance between you?" Mateo raised an eyebrow. "I know that you left to become a bard in hopes of winning my affections, and you settled for Luric because I was already married to Tori. But if this past year has proven anything it's that we're both unhappy with the people we married and are happier with one another. This is for the best." He was serious, but Lexie still could not bring herself to meet his eyes.

"We will see. For now, I just want to enjoy tonight." She finally looked at Mateo, then leaned in to kiss him again and change the subject.

The ring was hastily put back in the case and left on the nightstand so it would not get lost as clothes came off and the passion of the night ensued. As the light began to stream through the windows in the morning Lexie stirred awake, rolling over and cuddling up to Mateo with a yawn.

"I should go, before anyone finds us." She took a deep breath, just taking in his scent.

"Before Luric suspects, you mean." Mateo yawned, rolling over to face her and gently reaching up a hand to touch her cheek. "You should tell him." He repeated the words from the night before, causing Lexie to frown again.

"I will. I just have to find the right time." She pulled away from him, sitting up and looking at the little box on the nightstand. After a long moment of finding clothes and getting dressed she pulled out her necklace, already containing a symbol of her patron deity, and carefully strung the ring onto it before tucking the chain into her shirt. It was always there anyway since she never felt like being openly religious but wore the symbol as a way to honor the college she'd attended since they all worshiped the goddess of song.

"It will never be the right time." Mateo said as he watched her start pulling her hair into a braid. "Just get it over with." He added, knowing Lexie was giving him the cold shoulder for even bringing it up.

"I already said I would, okay? Please....drop it." Lexie tried not to sound as frustrated as she was, pulling on her boots last before leaving the small cabin. It was located just outside of town and belonged to her family, a sort of getaway when needed and the perfect place to carry out an affair. Lexie needed no excuse to go there, often claiming she just wanted to have a night to herself without Luric keeping her on a leash and she had no idea what excuses Mateo made but so far they had not been caught and with any luck it would continue to stay that way.


	3. Suicide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Done for NaNoWriMo 2019

Lexie was....numb. That was the only way she could describe things now, even with a fair amount of alcohol in her system. That had, arguably, only made things worse as it furthered her depressed state and made the dagger on her belt seem all the more appealing for slitting her wrists and ending everything. Then she could see Mateo again, be with him forever like they'd promised to do what seemed like forever ago.

He was supposed to get out of prison. He was supposed to walk out those front doors and hug her, they would cry and kiss and then move on with their lives as promised because for elves a decade was only a blink of an eye to their lifespan and both would have many years ahead of them to love. Instead Lexie had waited with eagerness only to be greeted with the prison's warden holding a box under one arm.

"Lexie, I presume?" The man asked, a sadness in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Aye. I'm here for Mateo." Lexie felt her expression shift, not liking where this conversation was about to head.

"I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, then. Mateo died a year into his sentence during a prison fight, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We tried to reach you to tell you after we found the letters in his cell and received more from you, but it seemed you were never expecting replies from him because you traveled so much and it made you impossible to track down. All I could do was hold on to his possessions and the letters, and return them to you." He motioned to the box.

Lexie said nothing. She had to process that information for a few moments, then spend a few more trying to hold herself together so she wouldn't break down right then and there.

"And his body?" She managed, though hiding the shakiness in her voice was difficult.

"Cremated, per his request. The ashes are....also here." Again he was talking about the box, which he then set down carefully. "Normally we would not release remains like this, but all things considered I am willing to make the exception. We contacted his family after his death, but they made it very clear he was estranged from them and they would take no responsibility for him. Seems you are the only one there is left to return him to." The man carefully took a step back, then turned on his heel and went back into the prison.

Lexie stood there what seemed like forever before daring to take a step forward, then another, then another until she reached the box and just stared down at it. There was the bundled stack of her letters, a small urn she presumed contained Mateo's ashes, and a small bag of the jewelry he often wore that had been confiscated before he went in and was not being returned to her as the closest thing to next of kin. That was all that was left of her beloved, and Lexie wasn't even aware she'd picked up the box and started to head back to the nearby village.

That was how she had ended up where she was now. The box sat by the bed, and Lexie had left it there along with most of her gear before heading downstairs to drink. Now she was back upstairs, a bottle of wine in hand that was mostly finished. Lexie tilted her head back and chugged the rest, then smashed the bottle on the edge of the nightstand. The sharp glass dug into her skin, something that would leave more jagged lines harder to heal than her dagger, and as her blood pooled on the floor Lexie fell into the dark bliss of death without a fight. Mateo was waiting for her, she could feel it, and she would join him again so they could live in the afterlife together.


	4. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Weekly Pet Prompt on Subeta, prompt Red

"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." The words left Lexie's lips as she stared off into the far horizon where the sun was starting to rise, noting the way the light had turned a deep shade of crimson as it reflected off the clouds.

"What was that?" Another sailor asked as they passed her by, tilting their head at the sea elf.

"Do you see the way the light of the rising sun has turned the sky as red as the fires of our lanterns?" Lexie pointed east, indicating what she was seeing. "It means there will most likely be rain later, if not an actual storm. Please go warn the captain, and tell him I will inform the resident weather witch to see what can be done. Best we are not caught off guard if something is to happen." Lexie nodded, letting go of the rigging she'd been unconsciously holding on to.

The other nodded in response, hurrying off to finish the duty they'd been given and then warn the captain. Even fresh as they were to the life of a sailor they knew the old saying, and to take the words of a sea elf seriously when it came to matters of the ocean. Only once they were out of sight did Lexie sigh and shake her head, fixing her braid before walking below the decks to wake and inform another elven woman. Not a sea elf as she was, but they still shared kinship of a sort and the woman was very skilled in magic relating to all forms of weather.

"I did not see anything in my predictions before I went to sleep." The weather witch yawned, but obliged Lexie and started to dress for the day.

"Perhaps not, but you and I both know the weather can be as unpredictable as the monsters of the depths. I am sorry to wake you, but I would rather this be nothing and catch a scolding from the captain than have it be a serious matter I chose to ignore." Lexie leaned against a wall, watching the clouds through a port hole.

"Very sensible. Come on then, we had best head up top so I can get a better look and read the winds. Hopefully it is indeed nothing, but should it be something everyone around here will need the extra time to prepare." There was another yawn, but the witch was awake and with any luck would be able to turn back anything foul that may be headed towards the lone ship adrift at sea.


	5. Aquatic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the Weekly Pet Prompt on Subeta, prompt Aquatic

With a cloudless sky and crystal clear waters the entire crew saw the ruins well before the ship sailed over them, which gave everyone enough time to convince the captain to stop for a while. Their journey wasn't urgent, and with good weather for the past few days they were well ahead of schedule so the captain saw no harm in dropping anchor on the edge of the ruins and allowing the crew some time to go poking around.

Most wouldn't be able to get too close, just tread on the surface and dive a little bit. Their bodies weren't made for the water, and they needed to breathe air. But not Lexie; as a sea elf she was as comfortable under the waves as she was walking on solid ground and her body was able to breathe in water as well as air.

Indulging her fellows, Lexie stripped out of her usual armor and left her weapons behind, diving into the water amid shouts and cheers. A few followed after her, but only one other could get as close as she; a mage, able to cast a spell on herself to allow for the same abilities Lexie had built in. She would be on a timer, though, and when the spell wore off she would have to return to the surface like all the others.

Still, having someone to explore with was a nice change of pace. Lexie dove deep, knowing the sea floor and the ruins were a lot further down than they looked. She passed sharks and fish that paid her no mind, seeing her as just another creature in the water that belonged as much as they did. When she finally reached what remained of some long sunken city Lexie turned to the mage and nodded, swimming off to look around.

Much of the old structures was gone, probably made of easily degraded materials like wood and only the stone walls were left behind. Corals and other sea plants had made this their home now, growing over what remained and leaving only the shapes as any indication of what had once been. Soon Lexie found what had clearly been an old lighthouse, the glass long gone but the spiraling tower a dead giveaway. She swam towards it, then angled upwards so she could swim in to the top of the old tower, careful not to cut herself on the barnacles that seemed to have encased it.

Lexie took her time looking around, but found nothing of note and swam back out in time to see the mage returning to the surface. The ship wouldn't leave without everyone on board, though, so the sea elf took her time swimming through the remainder of the ruins. Nothing about any of it was particularly interesting, no signs of what the place might have been or any left behind treasures. Not even any bones, as were sometimes found in such places. All in all boring, so Lexie turned around and swam for the ship as well after another hour of searching.

"Someone can mark it on the map, if they like, but I don't think there's anything down there. City must have sunk at least a few hundred years ago for all the structure decay and coral growth, and anything of worth is washed away, buried, or destroyed." She told those of the crew that had gathered, eager to hear what the sea elf had seen that they could not even imagine getting so close to.

"We'll tell the captain and have it marked anyway. Never know what might be useful." Someone else said, nodding and walking away from the crowd. The rest dispersed, some disappointed that there was nothing and others having expected as much.

Lexie just watched them go, then headed below deck to change into dry clothes and don her armor and weapons once more while the ship raised anchor and began to sail on its course again, leaving the ruins behind.


End file.
